Facts

On Jan. 14, 2008 at 6:00 a.m., Eric Kuhn, age 33, was killed while driving a 2004 Pontiac on D'Arcy Parkway eastbound when his vehicle was struck by a 2001 Peterbilt diesel truck traveling northbound on Murphy Parkway in Lathrop, California. The driver of the truck, Christopher Rothenberger, did not see the stop sign on Murphy Parkway because of foggy weather. The vehicles then struck a third vehicle, causing injuries and damages to a third person.

Eric Kuhn was not married and had no children. He had married for a very short time in the early 1990s and it could not be conclusively determined if there had been a divorce. The plaintiffs were the parents of decedent. The mother lived out of state and had remarried. The father had left the family when decedent was a young boy and had little contact with decedent. The parents were the heirs under the laws of intestate succession.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiffs contended that the truck driver was negligent for failing to stop at a posted stop sign and for speeding. There was no comparative negligence on decedent for he had the right-of-way.

Settlement Discussions

The defendants had a $1 million insurance policy, which plaintiffs demanded.

Result

Payments from the policy were made to the other persons injured in the accident and the parents received the balance of the insurance policy in the amount of $864,409.